Monday, February 02, 2015

Correction from yesterday

The ending of Super Bowl XLIX was insane, and even before that I found myself genuinely cheering for the Patriots.

But mentally, it was not all smooth sailing. I spent much of the fourth quarter on the phone with my mom, talking about the game and other things (she was also pulling for the Pats). At one point during the conversation, Tom Brady got sacked. My first instinct was to cheer very loudly, but then I realized I didn't want that in the Super Bowl, so it came out sort of, "YEAOOOH NOOOO!"

On the final Seahawks drive, Mom and I engaged in a spontaneous duet of, "NO! NO! NO! NO!" When Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson's goal-line pass, it turned into a happy, "WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?!!"

(Side note: That play call was stupid only in hindsight. Even I thought as they lined up, "Watch Lynch run it in. This season would end this way." The Seahawks probably assumed the same and wanted to trip up the defense, and they almost did it. If Ricardo Lockette had made the catch, we might be talking about how that play call was on par with Thomas Morstead's onside kick. Or not, since it's actually a common play call in the red zone.)

The scrum after the Patriots' first victory formation reminded me why I generally dislike both teams, especially the Seahawks. But I absolutely can't judge that, nor can I pretend I didn't laugh a little. And Richard Sherman was a class act for reaching out to shake Brady's hand after the final kneeldown. And I can identify with Sherman's expression after the interception.

I thought I'd enjoy the Super Bowl entirely for cynical reasons. I still don't care for either team. But they gave us all a memorable game. So I stand corrected.